Yup, it's the fabled, ever-lauded Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. I know this has probably been reviewed to death over the years, but I thought I'd share my reasons for loving it and the way in which I use it.
Clarins describes its famous Beauty Flash Balm as follows:
"The ultimate pick-me-up for tired, stressed skin—Clarins best-selling radiance booster helps eliminate signs of fatigue in a flash! Instantly moisturises, brightens and tightens facial contours so skin looks rested and relaxed. Olive and Witch Hazel extracts help smooth the skin’s surface, diffusing the look of lines and wrinkles. Soothing Bisabolol helps restore skin’s youthful glow. Preps skin for perfect make-up application and hours of luminous wear."
We all know what olive and witch-hazel are and what they do, but what is Bisabolol? Well apparently it is a compound derived from camomile, and it is used in cosmetics for its anti-inflammatory, skin healing properties. It's also what gives the Beauty Flash Balm (and I'm guessing quite a few other Clarins products) its light floral scent.
Essentially, Beauty Flash Balm attempts (and succeeds!) to moisturise, reduce redness, irritation and soothe the skin, as well as brightening the skin and acting as a primer to give your foundation a smooth base to rest on.
Most people recommend using this like a primer before applying foundation or as a moisture mask overnight. However, I like to mix this in with my foundation/base of my choice in order to give my bases a more dewy finish.
This mixes really well with all my bases; even the thickest matte foundations I own become more luminous with this, and although it doesn't claim to, I believe this does make a difference to the appearance of my pores also, minimising their appearance. I generally love the finish this gives my skin, it leaves it dewy, glowing but without making my terminally oily skin any worse. Bonus!
I have no idea how I existed without this in my routine. This has even changed my view on the kind of finish I like from my bases. Prior to trying this, I felt like I had to use matte bases because my skin produced so much oil. After using this, I'm beginning to embrace luminous glows and dewy finishes. Yaaaay!
Have you ever tried Clarins Beauty Flash Balm? And what kind of finish do you prefer for your skin?
Christina xo
I absolutely love this! For some reason, I think the smell is amazing but I like to use it to perk up my face if my skin is looking dull! X
ReplyDeleteI love the smell, I wonder if it's a Marmite thing; some love it and some hate it. It's the same with Elizabeth Arden's 8-hr Cream, I love the smell of that too but some dislike it.
DeleteSame, my skin always gets a bit dull in the winter so this came along like a bright ray of sunshine at the right time! :)
Christina xo